Matt Chasen is the CEO of uShip, a transport service that recently set up the Green Transport Network, a transport matching service.
The Green Transport Network campaign www.greentransport.co.uk was launched earlier this year to help van drivers reduce their emissions.
Matt came up with the idea of uShip after moving his belongings in a half-empty 20 foot truck because no smaller truck was available.
He was appalled with the waste and inefficiency of the situation, which he realised was endemic in the transport trade.
Of an entrepreneurial spirit, he launched the company in 2004 while studying for his MBA in Texas. The company flourished, although he freely admits his grades probably did not as a result of this new passion.
Its founding principals were to make the transport industry more efficient and get companies in the industry around the world operating more sustainably.
uShip connects customers with transporters and helps reduce the number of empty van journeys, and on average, people save 40-50% less, due to the competitive bidding process by transporters who are filling extra space in their vans and lorries.
The company is carbon neutral and values corporate environmental responsibility. The company purchases renewable energy and carbon off-sets business travel.
The company encourages employees in the green agenda, offering car pools, commuting credits, and office lunches to cut down on car trips.
Employees in the company share these values and some of the best waste-saving ideas come from them.
Matt wants to help to be an agent of change in business practice in the transport industry. By demonstrating the financial returns of increased efficiency, companies, he believes will see the correlation between increased environmental efficiency and increased efficiency in business practice.
Last year 10,000 customers took up the off-setting option and offset 673 tonnes of carbon from their uShip deliveries. A Green Provider Programme has been introduced to the business.
For the future Matt is focused on the company expanding globally, especially across Western Europe. In the UK, business has grown more quickly in the US. Matt puts this down to less private ownership of trucks and vans.
The company will venture more into the wholesale and commercial side of transport, working with intermediaries and brokers to efficiently connect with transport companies and carriers worldwide.
Alison Brown
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